Background
Calgary-based Enbridge Inc.is the company behind the proposed project that would bring tar sands oil from Alberta, through BC by a new 1000 km pipeline, and onto supertankers that would begin plying Dixon Entrance, Hecate Strait and Douglas Channel, putting BC's entire north coast at risk of oil spills.
The project would affect over forty First Nations in BC, some of whom are already saying 'NO', and all of whom have the power to delay or scuttle the project on the basis of unsettled land claims and their right to meaningful consultation and accomodation.
Enbridge doesn't like to talk about the risk of First Nations opposing their pipeline and supertanker dreams, because it would affect investor confidence in the long-term growth of the company. Enbridge shareholders and project stakeholders deserve honest and comprehensive disclosure of the risk that First Nations opposition poses to their project.
First Nations deserve the right of refusal should they decide that the project threatens their communities.